A first issue is always a tricky prospect. Creative teams are challenged not only with the task of coming up with a “hook”, or somehow ensnaring the reader for future issues, but also establishing the direction of the new series. The best first issues, the ones that rise to the challenge, are very special reads indeed. Fortunately, Batman
Adventures #1 is among them, charging out of the gates from the very first page. After a lengthy and somewhat controversial run by writer
Scott Peterson, the book’s previous incarnation,
Gotham Adventures, had limped to a troubling conclusion. Fortunately, DC saw fit to re-launch the book, with longtime DCAU maestro Ty Templeton in charge of scripting, working alongside relative newcomer Dan
Slott. Each issue would contain a seventeen-page main story, along with a five page backup. Pre-release coverage of the series looked good, and DC decided to select Batman Adventures #1 as its Free Comic
Book Day title for 2003. All eyes were on the series…
and few were disappointed.
The opening pages of Batman Adventures #1
immediately establish the series’ sense of daring and adventurous plotting. We discover that the Penguin is now the mayor of Gotham City, turning the GCPD against the Caped Crusader.
It’s a clever idea, and one has to wonder why it hasn’t been done in the more anemic Batman titles of the mainline DCU continuity. Batman is often at his most intriguing when he’s working outside, or even against, the law, so this development establishes a new status quo, with obvious dramatic potential.
But that’s merely the setup. The issue is primarily concerned with Batman’s struggle to keep a group of assassins from attacking the inmates of Arkham Asylum.
It’s a dynamic which works, primarily because it’s interesting to see Batman charged with the task of protecting his greatest enemies. It’s also a clever way to give all of Batman’s greatest villains a small role in his new series’ first issue. Each rogue gets a nice character-centric moment, from Two Face’s reliance on pure chance to dictate his actions to Poison Ivy’s continuing loss of her own humanity. Poison Ivy, in fact, is the recipient of a stab wound, a scene which shocks at first but is later revealed to be a rather clever fakeout.
This main story is plenty of fun, packed with strong action scenes and excellent dialogue. Perhaps most importantly, it also serves to distinguish Batman
Adventures from previous animated Batman comics. Ty
Templeton makes an effort to establish running plot threads which would be addressed over the coming months, embracing a kind of long-form storytelling which had previously been rare in the animated Batman books.
Several fascinating mysteries, from the secrecy surrounding the Penguin’s election to Alfred’s curious use of a cane, make the reader want to stick with the series to learn more.
The five-page backups were a debatable addition on DC’s part, as they cut down the number of pages available for the main story. Thankfully, the backup which appears in this issue, “Who Am I?” sets a precedent for satisfying and logical five-page stories. Dan Slott takes advantage of the first issue status to deliver a condensed version of Batman’s origin and general approach to crimefighting, nicely setting up the character’s history and motivation.
The art is provided by Terry Beatty, Ty Templeton, and
Rick Burchett, a strong creative collaboration which thankfully sets the tone in just the right manner.
Action sequences are fluid and enjoyable, and the Timm style is used to its fullest effect, with expressive characters and dramatic lighting. There are errors in the coloring, particularly in Two-Face’s appearance, a problem which would plague the series until it ended.
Still, this is a visually appealing and bright comic, a pleasure to look at if not a total feast for the eyes.
As #1 issues go, Batman Adventures #1 is a satisfying debut, packing a fresh sense of direction and purpose that would embody the series in future issues.
Hard to argue with that.
